Quite a gem for a virtual novel series. It was the most "unexpected" game seriesI might have played in the last four years. If you're reading this, I suggest giving the series a try. The first one is free to begin with.

I played Mask of Arcadius years and years ago, bought Liberation Day when it released but ultimately forgot to play it after getting busy in life. I saw this game release and decided to replay MoA again and finally go through LD. Suffice to say, as someone who doesn't play a lot of anime games, much less virtual novels. This has exceeded every bit of expectations I've had.

Without getting into much spoilers. I expected this series to just be an anime-ish space opera with obvious influences from Mass Effect and other games. However, it has great character development and tangible relationships. Each character has their own distinct "trope" or personality akin to anime. It's very flexible and wide in regards to the characters, and Kayto Shields isn't a 2-dimensional black or white character. He is relatable in the sense of fighting a loosing battle (or war) but determined to see it through with his trusted crew and friends. The weight of command apparent on his shoulders.

The story is bonkers for a virtual novel. The amount of plot twists (from even the first game) is ridiculous in a good way. A lot of them were unexpected. It's like if you made Mass Effect into an anime and put time travel & time paradoxes into it. The pacing was good, and the characters in this one are even more fleshed out than the past.

In terms of gameplay. I liked most, possibly 90% of the changes. It shows that they're innovating and not wanting to do the same thing for their VN, things such as the 3D-space, the momentum system, and the inclusion of actual weapons & sight range. The only criticism I can point out is that some of the "Temple puzzles" are agonizingly slow, and count on whether or not you've upgraded your Ryders' move & hit points.

Some minor spoilers ahead, major spoilers will be blacked out

However, not everything is perfect. For those who come from the previous games. There are some "issues" with the story. First off, not everyone agrees with the six-year time-skip because of the implications this has had with Shields and his mental psyche. The romance of the game has also been "somewhat" cut by essentially focusing more on the grander story. Shields seemingly broken by his past experience in MoA and LD, most of the girls' affection for you built up over those six-seven years also faded in time. There are also no romantic scenes, while this can be a 50-50 for some players. It beats the point of approaching any end-route because all you get for increasing to 10/10 hearts is a bonus scene for whichever girl you focus on. I really hope the next game opts for a more balanced story-telling approach. I still enjoyed my time building up relationship with all of the characters and seeing their "arcs"

The characters such as Lynn have great "story arcs" and in my opinion hers is the best. Her discovery of human emotions, how she copes with it throughout, and her complicated relationship with Shields is something I would like to be explored further in the future. No spoilers, but I'm glad they went with the route she had at the end. Others are equally as interesting, wherein I put Asaga and Sola as a tie for second. I was emotionally attached to all of these characters over the course of the series, and that's a sign of good storytelling.

At least the developers have hinted that there will be a next game. The story is not over, however, it will take a long time until the next game.. it took them nearly eight years from Liberation Day to Captain's Return. I'd like to believe that this is due to the switch from the old RenPy engine to GameMaker. Here's hoping that it doesn't take as long.

This review doesn't cover everything, but I'd give it a 9/10 for the story alone. In terms of gameplay I'd give it a 7/10.

Quite a gem for a virtual novel series. It was the most "unexpected" game seriesI might have played in the last four years. If you're reading this, I suggest giving the series a try. The first one is free to begin with. I played Mask of Arcadius years and years ago, bought Liberation Day when it released but ultimately forgot to play it after getting busy in life. I saw this game release and decided to replay MoA again and finally go through LD. Suffice to say, as someone who doesn't play a lot of anime games, much less virtual novels. This has exceeded every bit of expectations I've had. Without getting into much spoilers. I expected this series to just be an anime-ish space opera with obvious influences from Mass Effect and other games. However, it has great character development and tangible relationships. Each character has their own distinct "trope" or personality akin to anime. It's very flexible and wide in regards to the characters, and Kayto Shields isn't a 2-dimensional black or white character. He is relatable in the sense of fighting a loosing battle (or war) but determined to see it through with his trusted crew and friends. The weight of command apparent on his shoulders. The story is bonkers for a virtual novel. The amount of plot twists (from even the first game) is ridiculous in a good way. A lot of them were unexpected. It's like if you made Mass Effect into an anime and put [spoiler] time travel & time paradoxes [/spoiler] into it. The pacing was good, and the characters in this one are even more fleshed out than the past. In terms of gameplay. I liked most, possibly 90% of the changes. It shows that they're innovating and not wanting to do the same thing for their VN, things such as the 3D-space, the momentum system, and the inclusion of actual weapons & sight range. The only criticism I can point out is that some of the "Temple puzzles" are agonizingly slow, and count on whether or not you've upgraded your Ryders' move & hit points. [b] Some minor spoilers ahead, major spoilers will be blacked out [/b] However, not everything is perfect. For those who come from the previous games. There are some "issues" with the story. First off, not everyone agrees with the [spoiler] six-year time-skip [/spoiler] because of the implications this has had with Shields and his mental psyche. The romance of the game has also been "somewhat" cut by essentially focusing more on the grander story. Shields seemingly broken by his past experience in MoA and LD, most of the girls' affection for you built up over those six-seven years also faded in time. There are also no romantic scenes, while this can be a 50-50 for some players. It beats the point of approaching any end-route because [spoiler] all you get for increasing to 10/10 hearts is a bonus scene for whichever girl you focus on. [/spoiler] I really hope the next game opts for a more balanced story-telling approach. I still enjoyed my time building up relationship with all of the characters and seeing their "arcs" The characters such as Lynn have great "story arcs" and in my opinion hers is the best. Her discovery of human emotions, how she copes with it throughout, and her complicated relationship with Shields is something I would like to be explored further in the future. No spoilers, but I'm glad they went with the route she had at the end. Others are equally as interesting, wherein I put Asaga and Sola as a tie for second. I was emotionally attached to all of these characters over the course of the series, and that's a sign of good storytelling. At least the developers have hinted that there will be a next game. The story is not over, however, it will take a long time until the next game.. it took them nearly eight years from Liberation Day to Captain's Return. I'd like to believe that this is due to the switch from the old RenPy engine to GameMaker. Here's hoping that it doesn't take as long. This review doesn't cover everything, but I'd give it a 9/10 for the story alone. In terms of gameplay I'd give it a 7/10.